The former England manager leaves the club after 112 days in charge following defeat by Birmingham

Steve McClaren has resigned as Nottingham Forest manager after 112 days in charge, while chairman Nigel Doughty will step down at the end of the season.

The announcement, which came after Forest’s 3-1 home defeat by Birmingham City on Sunday, follows the mid-week departure of David Pleat from his part-time role as football consultant.

After sacking Billy Davies, who had led the club to two successive play-off failures, pre-season optimism was high that McClaren would be the man to take Forest back to the top division.

But after just two wins, a draw and six league defeats, Forest are looking like a team more likely to be playing next season in League One rather than the Premier League.

BBC Radio 5 Liveâ€™s Pat Murphy has claimed that McClaren was unhappy about being unable to sign two Premier League players on loan due to concerns from the chairman over wages – and believed he was going to resign regardless of the result on Saturday but had hoped to â€œgo out on a high noteâ€.

Despite their disastrous start to the season, McClaren – who had been in charge since June – has been praised by some supporters for not taking or seeking any form of compensation following his resignation. Some fans have even credited him with forcing the resignation of the chairman through this action.

One fan commenting on the ForestFans.net forum, posted: “It has to be said, that the man has done us a massive favour. Stood up against Doughty, pushed him out, then fell on his sword.”

So, who could replace McClaren in the Forest hot-seat? Last month The People claimed that Derby manager Nigel Clough could follow in his late fatherâ€™s footsteps, while some fans have speculated that Preston manager Phil Brown, who led Hull from relegation form to promotion, could be the man to replace the former England manager.

There have even been calls for ex-manager Davies to be reinstated, and speculation that former player Roy Keane could be returning to take charge have been met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm online.